This course will introduce you to Virtual Reality (VR). The course will teach you everything from the basics of VR- the hardware and the history of VR- to different applications of VR, the psychology of Virtual Reality, and the challenges of the medium.
The course is designed for people who are new to VR as a medium. You may have experienced some virtual reality before, and may have some hardware- but this course is suitable to individuals who have never experienced VR and those who do not have much hardware- we will explain Mobile VR as well as devices such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
Introduction to Virtual Reality is the first course in the Virtual Reality Specialisation. A learner with no previous experience in Virtual Reality and/or game programming will be able to evaluate existing VR applications, and design, test, and implement their own VR experiences/games using Unity by the end of the specialisation.

CS

This course was very informative. I also found it challenging, which is a good thing. I was introduced to aspects of VR that had not considered, such as the psychological aspects.

SA

Jun 12, 2018

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

This is best VR introduction course. I learned a lot of about VR apps, hardware, VR illusions and many more. Teachers are great in explanation of the content.

À partir de la leçon

VR Applications

This week, you’ll learn more about the different applications of VR- from news and documentaries, to sports, therapy, and games. You will also learn more about the VR Technical Framework, and will have the opportunity to share your thoughts on VR applications with your peers.

Enseigné par

Dr Sylvia Xueni Pan

Lecturer, Department of Computing

Dr Marco Gillies

Senior Lecturer

Transcription

[MUSIC] In this video we'll look at couple of VR applications in area of sports. One idea supported by VR is that you can watch a football game from the best seat available in the stadium while enjoying the comfort of not having to leave home. This is normally done with 360 degree video taken from a fixed position. But you can look around and really feel that you are part of it. These kind of experiences are normally not interactive but you can have buttons to press which give you an information overlay. Or the videos can be captured from a couple seats in different areas of the stadium so you have the freedom to choose where to sit. Similar concepts have also been used in theater so you can appreciate a ballet or an opera show from the front seat without having to pay the premium. As this view can be shared by everyone. Another example for VR experience in this area is an application which makes you feel like you are part of the England rugby team. The creators used a mixed method to make the user feel like they are part of activity and even part of the team. I tried this app at a VR exhibition. It started as a short 360 video where I could look around, but couldn't really interact with the game otherwise. It was very realistic as it was filmed with real people. I found myself in a changing room with many rugby players, which was slightly odd. The amazing thing was that as I enter the room, two rugby players looked at me and said hi to me. They then said to each other, this must be the new team member, which I thought was quite cool. I'm not a rugby fan myself, but I'm sore for someone who actually watches rugby, that would have been an amazing experience. For the second part, I actually get to play a rugby game with these players, but this time they were replaced by cartoon-like virtual characters. There has been some hype about using VR for sports training. But various papers have pointed out that training in the real world is still more effective. Apparently in this area, what you learn in VR remains in VR. So the skills are not yet transferable. But that doesn't stop you from having some fun playing some ping pong. In this case you use the VR controller as your ping pong bat and the ball is animated using physical simulation. This is an application with motor based VR that is supported by high end VR hardware. I haven't tried it myself, but it looks like a fun game with nice graphics and lighting. [MUSIC]